Although Rhys did not think highly of the Malfoys, there was one description of the family he very much agreed with: you would never see a member of the Malfoy family at the scene of a crime, even if the wand used was already covered in their fingerprints.
Daphne still needed more of his guidance.
Thinking of this, Rhys glanced at Astoria. He was quite satisfied with this student.
He was absolutely certain that Astoria had also been curious about what was inside the wardrobe, yet she had managed to keep herself completely out of it, clean and untouched.
"You really won't get detention?" Rhys's words made Daphne relax, but she still felt a bit uncertain. Looking back, her actions did not seem all that justifiable.
"I don't think this is a very serious issue." Naturally, Rhys could not say that he and Helga had practically wanted to use the Imperius Curse to make them open the cabinet, so he could only start coming up with various justifications.
"If that thing were truly dangerous and important, Professor White definitely wouldn't have stored it like this. And when Diggory became interested in the cabinet, she certainly would have explained the risks clearly. Since Professor White didn't say anything, it means the problem isn't serious."
"But you just told us to spare no cost to destroy it," Hermione recalled what Rhys had said earlier.
Rhys: "…"
Having been hit by his own words, he quickly began patching things up, saying a bunch of vague nonsense about how it wasn't a big problem but still couldn't be allowed to escape, and finally managed to muddle Hermione through it.
"So what now?" Astoria looked at Rhys.
"Keep making components. What else is there to do? Daphne, make a few more parts and Professor White will probably let you off."
Rhys's words reignited Daphne's motivation. For the rest of the time, the speed at which she produced puppet components actually began to approach Rhys's when he was not holding back.
This left Rhys quite astonished and inwardly sighing that when people were truly pushed, they really could do things they normally couldn't.
Just as it was nearing mealtime, Helga returned.
The Ministry of Magic had, of course, invited her to stay for a meal, but she declined.
She was far too eager to see the results of the trial. Her Cedric should have played an extremely crucial role, right? Driven by this mindset, Helga hurried back without stopping.
The moment she entered the office, Helga's gaze fell on the puppet that had been reduced to components. She immediately felt a surge of delight. The children had not disappointed her. They had truly found the puppet!
What she had feared most was returning to the office to find the four children all obediently sitting in their places making parts. If that had happened, all her effort would have been for nothing.
Of course, she had left Salazar here precisely to prevent such a situation.
If it really came down to the final moment, Salazar would definitely have personally jumped in, opened the cabinet himself, then been ambushed and instantly defeated by the puppet, leaving the other four present to clean up the mess.
That was a last-resort plan, because it differed far too much from Salazar's usual persona.
Immersed in her delight, Helga did not notice the complex look in Salazar's eyes. She was still basking in the joy of her plan succeeding.
Seeing Professor White enter and stare silently at the puppet fragments, Daphne grew extremely nervous.
Under the immense psychological pressure, she took the initiative to apologize, saying her curiosity had been too strong and that she had accidentally damaged the professor's belongings.
Only then did Helga snap back to herself. She quickly comforted Daphne and said it was her own fault for forgetting to put a powerful lock on the cabinet, and that it was a great relief they had not been hurt.
Seeing that Professor White had no intention of punishing her, Daphne finally let out a breath of relief.
"Alright, you've all worked hard. Go enjoy your holiday now. Diggory and Lint, stay behind." Helga, as if feeling somewhat guilty over her own oversight, told the students to go rest and excused them from their work.
As for Cedric and Rhys, who were kept back, they were naturally there to help her repair the puppet.
After the puppet was fixed, Helga found an excuse to send Cedric away as well, while Rhys very perceptively stayed behind.
"Well?" The moment Cedric was out of earshot, Helga impatiently asked about the children's performance.
With a complicated expression, Rhys recounted the entire sequence of events to his old friend, watching Helga's face turn from clear to stormy.
"You've really outdone yourself, Salazar!" Helga said through gritted teeth. "Look how capable you've become!"
Rhys: "…"
How is this my fault? Is being too strong my crime?
"It was Miss Granger's strength that exceeded our expectations. Rowena will probably be very pleased," he said in a complicated tone.
That only made Helga feel worse.
Her instincts told her that once Granger's domain fully developed, Cedric would likely not be her match.
Sigh. She should have poached that girl into her own House back then!
In the end, it was all Salazar's fault.
If he had praised Hufflepuff to Hermione back then when he first met her, the girl probably would not have gone to Ravenclaw.
Rhys rolled his eyes. He could tell at a glance that Helga was just passing the blame.
He was not about to indulge her and simply walked out of her office. He left in such a hurry that he even forgot to ask about the progress of the Triwizard Tournament plan.
Not long after leaving Helga's office, Rhys ran into Neville, whose face looked much paler than before, yet was glowing with delight.
"Rhys!" The moment he saw him, Neville hurried over and shared some good news. The compass grass Rhys had previously entrusted to him had been saved!
"Oh? Impressive!" Rhys was genuinely surprised.
When he had handed the compass grass to Neville back then, he had not truly believed the boy could revive it. As time passed, his attention on Neville had gradually faded, and eventually he had completely forgotten about him.
He had not expected Neville to suddenly bring him such a pleasant surprise today.
"Look!" Neville did not waste words and directly produced a pot of lush, vibrant compass grass.
"Truly remarkable…" Rhys did not know what else to say. He could only admit that Neville had done an excellent job.
"You really worked hard on this. I don't even know how to thank you," Rhys said, already considering what reward he should give Neville.
Insights into mana flow? Helga's food magic? Or Godric's training methods?
However, gathering his courage, Neville made a small request of his own. He hoped the compass grass could remain with him for a while longer.
"I want to try propagating it," he said, then looked at Rhys expectantly, afraid of being refused.
In Rhys's view, this could not even be considered a reward.
Cultivating compass grass was no simple task. If it were that easy to grow, how could the Romans have allowed it to go extinct?
Rhys readily agreed to Neville's request.
"That's wonderful!" Neville was so excited he nearly jumped up, almost knocking the pot of compass grass out of his hands.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI